St Vincent is directing a new version of a hugely famous novel

Musician Annie Clark is about to tackle her first feature film… and it’s based on a once-controversial novel

The recording studio is clearly not enough for critically acclaimed musician St Vincent (aka Annie Clark) who is branching out into film, with a gig directing a female-led version of Oscar Wilde's classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's not the singer-guitarist's first time in the director's chair either - earlier this year her short film Birthday Party premiered at Sundance.

According to a Variety report, Lionsgate are developing the film version of the 1890 book, which centres on Dorian Gray, a beautiful young man who makes a pact with the devil in exchange for eternal youth. The only evidence of his bargain lies in a increasingly depraved portrait in the attic which reveals his real age. As you can imagine, the story's universal themes of eternal youth, hedonism and narcissism are perfectly relevant in today's age-centric society. According to the report, the objectified Dorian Gray character will become a woman in the new adaptation - because, you know, patriarchy.

For those unacquainted with Oscar Wilde's witty prose and cautionary tale of devilish debauchery, Dorian Gray was his only published novel. Side note: upon publication, it was widely condemned for its allusions to homosexuality and in 1895 Wilde was convicted of sodomy and sent to jail. Harsh.

It's early days for the film, but David Birke (Elle) has been writing the script. Here's hoping the 2017 Dorian Gray gets an epic feminist makeover with a killer female cast. We wonder if Annie Clark's ex Kristen Stewart could be lured into the project?